Neighbourhood plan fund
Tenants of Liverpool Mutual Homes are being invited to pitch for grants from three funds totalling £700,000 to improve their communities.
Liverpool Mutual Homes has set aside £100,000 for tenant projects as part of a Neighbourhood Plan Fund.
The money is part of a wider allocation of £450,000 (in total) budgeted for by LMH called the Community Investment Fund.
A further £250,000 has been earmarked for social enterprise and growth projects.
A maximum of £5,000 is available for each Neighbourhood Plan Fund project but more could be considered if the idea is deemed to have a large scale affect on a community, such as creating jobs.
A wide-range of schemes are being supported by the Neighbourhood Plan Fund such as starting businesses, helping access jobs through travel allowances, improving transport, addressing anti-social behaviour, and improving community services.
Examples of the type of projects that have been financed through the Neighbourhood Plan Fund to date include an anti-knife crime play shown at 17 schools and community centres across the city to educate pupils of the associated dangers and the introduction of SmartWater technology to homes to reduce burglaries.
LMH is currently supporting an educational course that will benefit a group of Somali women to gain new skills and accredited qualifications within health and social care. This innovative project is in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and aims to assist unemployed individuals work towards securing a prosperous career within their chosen sector.
To address the shortage of tenants who do not hold driving licences, which can often prevent them from securing jobs, LMH is looking into the possibility of developing a driving school that offer lessons to customers.
In return, LMH will require participants to take part in numerous multi-agency volunteering projects that are steered to develop people's skills and work experience while helping benefit the wider community.
This inventive project aims to empower customers while having a lasting impact on sustaining communities.
Level 2 NVQ sports coaching courses are also being offered with in-kind hours being given back to help at LMH community events.
LMH is looking at using the fund to improve the skills of the trainees on its Shared Apprenticeship Scheme to make them more likely to gain long-term employment and careers.
Bursaries have also been created for those wanting to access higher and further education, and to help people get back into work.
All applications LMH supports must fit into the wider strategic objectives of sustaining safer and stronger communities, economic development, improving health and well-being, or aimed at improving the quality of life for traditionally excluded groups.
A scoring matrix is applied to each application to measure numerous outcomes based on key values before funding is allocated.
The scheme follows-on from the Neighbourhood Plans LMH launched last year, which after detailed consultation with tenants, staff and Board members of its 15,000 housing stock, identified the concerns and priorities of the people in its 29 neighbourhoods.
LMH Chief Executive, Steve Coffey, said: "Our tenants know what is needed in their neighbourhoods more than anyone else so we are giving them the opportunity to not only tell us but actively deliver it and we will support them financially and mentor them.
"We have some very talented tenants who have innovative ideas and the Neighbourhood Plan Fund removes the financial barrier that might be preventing them from getting started.
"It is part of our work to make LMH communities sustainable; physically through our regeneration work and by empowering tenants to improve their lives and neighbourhoods.
"Sustainable communities means a mixture of tenancies, households and occupations.
"The more people working or being active in the community creates a culture of improvement and aspiration and in turn, this establishes a more balanced society that maintains a nucleus of economically active people and reduces anti-social behaviour."
Those wanting to apply to the Neighbourhood Plan Fund should contact Dave Mobbs on 0151 235 2382 or dave.mobbs@liverpoolmh.co.uk
